I’ve been reading social media posts lately about schools that don’t have libraries. WHAT?? No libraries at some schools? Have we lost our minds as a society? My heart breaks when I hear this. Why aren’t parents, teachers, kids, community members, community leaders shouting from the rooftops about the importance of school libraries and the importance of school librarians? School libraries should be the community center of a school.  Take a look at the importance of school libraries from the American Library Association: Strong School Libraries Build Strong Students.

With that being said, I’ve been checking out books from our library at North View Middle School. Our Media Center Specialist does an amazing job at keeping our school library up-to-date and relevant for our sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students. Our students and staff are incredibly lucky to have so many amazing middle grade and YA books to choose from.

Here are some of the books I’ve read over the past month, and many of them are in our school library. Enjoy! Happy I Love to Read Month!

(Next blog will focus on Black History Month and great reads from black authors!)

Wishtree by Katherine Applegate

My review on Goodreads: Young and old should read this book. If trees could talk, they would teach us a lot about ourselves.

Goodreads Blurb: 

Trees can’t tell jokes, but they can certainly tell stories. . . .

Red is an oak tree who is many rings old. Red is the neighborhood “wishtree”—people write their wishes on pieces of cloth and tie them to Red’s branches. Along with her crow friend Bongo and other animals who seek refuge in Red’s hollows, this “wishtree” watches over the neighborhood.

You might say Red has seen it all. Until a new family moves in. Not everyone is welcoming, and Red’s experiences as a wishtree are more important than ever.

The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui 

My review on Goodreads: What a beautiful and amazing book! I can’t wait to share Thi Bui’s memoir with my students!

Goodreads Blurb: 
An intimate and poignant graphic novel portraying one family’s journey from war-torn Vietnam from debut author Thi Bui.

This beautifully illustrated and emotional story is an evocative memoir about the search for a better future and a longing for the past. Exploring the anguish of immigration and the lasting effects that displacement has on a child and her family, Bui documents the story of her family’s daring escape after the fall of South Vietnam in the 1970s, and the difficulties they faced building new lives for themselves.

At the heart of Bui’s story is a universal struggle: While adjusting to life as a first-time mother, she ultimately discovers what it means to be a parent—the endless sacrifices, the unnoticed gestures, and the depths of unspoken love. Despite how impossible it seems to take on the simultaneous roles of both parent and child, Bui pushes through. With haunting, poetic writing and breathtaking art, she examines the strength of family, the importance of identity, and the meaning of home.

In what Pulitzer Prize–winning novelist Viet Thanh Nguyen calls “a book to break your heart and heal it,” The Best We Could Do brings to life Thi Bui’s journey of understanding, and provides inspiration to all of those who search for a better future while longing for a simpler past.

More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera

My review on Goodreads: This book tore my heart apart and kind of put it back – just kind of.

Goodreads Blurb: 

Part Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, part Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, Adam Silvera’s extraordinary debut confronts race, class, and sexuality during one charged near-future summer in the Bronx.

Sixteen-year-old Aaron Soto is struggling to find happiness after a family tragedy leaves him reeling. He’s slowly remembering what happiness might feel like this summer with the support of his girlfriend Genevieve, but it’s his new best friend, Thomas, who really gets Aaron to open up about his past and confront his future.

As Thomas and Aaron get closer, Aaron discovers things about himself that threaten to shatter his newfound contentment. A revolutionary memory-alteration procedure, courtesy of the Leteo Institute, might be the way to straighten himself out. But what if it means forgetting who he truly is?

Starfish by Akemi Dawn Bowman 

 

My review on Goodreads: Loved. This. Book. Don’t want it to be over.

Goodreads Blurb: 

Kiko Himura has always had a hard time saying exactly what she’s thinking. With a mother who makes her feel unremarkable and a half-Japanese heritage she doesn’t quite understand, Kiko prefers to keep her head down, certain that once she makes it into her dream art school, Prism, her real life will begin.

But then Kiko doesn’t get into Prism, at the same time her abusive uncle moves back in with her family. So when she receives an invitation from her childhood friend to leave her small town and tour art schools on the west coast, Kiko jumps at the opportunity in spite of the anxieties and fears that attempt to hold her back. And now that she is finally free to be her own person outside the constricting walls of her home life, Kiko learns life-changing truths about herself, her past, and how to be brave.

North of Happy by Adi Alsaid

 

My review on Goodreads: Don’t know how this book has a rating of under 4 on Goodreads. I was skeptical at first. How good could a book about cooking be? Well, it could be amazing!! I am a sucker for realistic fiction and realistic fiction by all of these terrific new authors, so I’m not surprised I loved this book. There are so many fabulous authors out there – diverse authors – who give readers a chance to experience a different world. Adi Alsaid’s books. Read them. At least this one. I’ve only read this one, but I will be reading more of his books.

Goodreads Blurb: 

 

His whole life has been mapped out for him…

Carlos Portillo has always led a privileged and sheltered life. A dual citizen of Mexico and the

US, he lives in Mexico City with his wealthy family, where he attends an elite international school. Always a rule follower and a parent pleaser, Carlos is more than happy to tread the well-worn path in front of him. He has always loved food and cooking, but his parents see it as just a hobby.

When his older brother, Felix—who has dropped out of college to live a life of travel—is tragically killed, Carlos begins hearing his brother’s voice, giving him advice and pushing him to rebel against his father’s plan for him. Worrying about his mental health, but knowing the voice is right, Carlos runs away to the United States and manages to secure a job with his favorite celebrity chef. As he works to improve his skills in the kitchen and pursue his dream, he begins to fall for his boss’s daughter—a fact that could end his career before it begins. Finally living for himself, Carlos must decide what’s most important to him and where his true path really lies.

Because You’ll Never Meet Me by Leah Thomas 

 

My review on Goodreads: Ollie is a born storyteller, and Mo is a super hero in disguise. Two boys who can never meet captured my heart from the first page. This book will not disappoint although it will break your heart at times – humans can be so cruel.

 

Goodreads: 

Ollie and Moritz are best friends, but they can never meet. Ollie is allergic to electricity. Contact with it causes debilitating seizures. Moritz’s weak heart is kept pumping by an electronic pacemaker. If they ever did meet, Ollie would seize. But Moritz would die without his pacemaker. Both hermits from society, the boys develop a fierce bond through letters that become a lifeline during dark times—as Ollie loses his only friend, Liz, to the normalcy of high school and Moritz deals with a bully set on destroying him.

A story of impossible friendship and hope under strange circumstances, this debut is powerful, dark and humorous in equal measure. These extraordinary voices bring readers into the hearts and minds of two special boys who, like many teens, are just waiting for their moment to shine.

La Línea by Ann Jaramillo 

My review on Goodreads: Quick read but a read that is worthwhile. I hope people will take the time to read this book, especially those who believe “illegal” immigrants are the terrible people Trump and the GOP make them out to be. When it comes down to it, people are people, and we need to take care of one another no matter our country of origin since countries are arbitrary lines made by humans.

Goodreads Blurb: 

Miguel’s life is just beginning. Or so he thinks. Fifteen-year-old Miguel leaves his rancho deep in Mexico to migrate to California across la linea, the border, in a debut novel of life-changing, cliff-hanging moments.

But Miguel’s carefully laid plans change suddenly when his younger sister Elena stows away and follows him. Together, Miguel and Elena endure hardships and danger on their journey of desperation and desire, loyalty and betrayal. An epilogue, set ten years after the events of the story, shows that you can’t always count on dreams–even the ones that come true.